Commissioner for Information of Public Importance and Personal Data Protection, Rodoljub Sabic, visited today South of Serbia as a guest of Association of Public Prosecutors and Deputy Public Prosecutors of Serbia. During a counseling organized for that opportunity, the Commissioner spoke to prosecutors from the region of Nis, Leskovac, Vranje and Prokuplje on the topic „Right to Access Information of Public Importance in Criminal Law Procedure."
In his lecture the Commissioner, Rodoljub Sabic stressed:
„The right to freely access data owned by the government is guaranteed by the Constitution and Law on Free Access to Information of Public Importance. That law implies double obligation of the authorities. As first, in the way envisaged by the law to treat the requests by the citizens, journalists, media and others, and as second, to offer an increasing number of information about their work to the public and that also on proactive basis, without waiting that someone shall specifically ask for them. Those obligations pertain to all authorities without exception, and also to the Prosecuting offices.
It is understood as a normal thing, that a specific role and position of the Prosecutor’s office can more often than with other authorities lead to situations in which it is possible and legitimate to at least, for a certain time, limit public approach. So, when this is necessary due to reasons of detection, prosecuting and processing of criminal acts’ perpetrators, as well as when it is necessary due to legally envisaged personal data protection, the Prosecutor’s offices can of course limit public access, referring for that purpose to the bases otherwise provided in the Law on Free Access to Information.
However, when we talk about information the availability of which to the public does not question the basic functions of the Prosecutor’s office, there is no justification for their refusal to the public. The Prosecutor’s offices as well as the other authorities should try to make them all the more accessible. In that way, they perform their formal legal obligation, but they also surely contribute to increased trust of the citizens in the quality of their own work."
